Harmony
by ravendream
Summary: Collection of Team7 SasuSakuNaru oneshots and drabbles Part twentysix: Panna Cotta: And of course, the most important rule of team seven's home - Naruto is not allowed in the kitchen. Ever.
1. Beautiful Morning With You

**A/N:** As a prewarning... each one-shot or drabble posted in here will be focused on team 7. When I say that, I mean it's focusing on three people as more than just teammates or friends. I highly doubt I'll ever make a graphic chapter (lime is extremely rare from me and lemon is nonexistant), but occasionally there will be implied(maybe slightly more than implied, but not much) boy x girl x boy (or boy x boy x girl...) sex.

The inspiration for these was random. I was thinking up a quick SasuSakuNaru one-shot in my head after taking a trip to one of the bigger malls in my state, where I walked into Hot Topic wearing a Naruto t-shirt, and the guy working there told me they'd just gotten a new Naruto hoodie (probably the cutest thing I've ever seen too). That put me straight into the writing mood for some reason. A frozen mocha, long car ride, and several cds later, I had the budding idea for this set of stories. Fortunately, it also gives me a mini-break from my SasuSaku fic while still letting me write Naruto fanfiction.

I've written five and a half of these so far, and will probably write more.  
Hope everyone likes them :)

**Harmony**  
Beautiful Morning With You  
By Bunny-Chan  
09.28.06 

The curtains are drawn, but still barely manage to completely conceal the bright morning light of Konoha. Somewhere in a tiny corner of my mind, I'm reminded that I promised my mother I'd be home earlier today to help her clean the house, but light like that shines on the village from six in the morning to late in the afternoon, and the clock is to my back.

I can hear Naruto snoring softly. It's not him I have to worry about waking (I have full confidence he could sleep through anything), it's the one lying between us.

I try to be as careful as possible when I lift Sasuke's arm from around me, but his eyes still snap open, taking an instantaneous survey of the room. When he sees nothing threatening, his dark eyes rest on me. The arm I was trying to move gently pushes me back down.

"Oi... Sleep, Sakura." He orders tiredly.

"But Sasuke-kun, I have to-" "You're tired, sleep."

Naruto mumbles something about ramen as he wraps his arms tighter around Sasuke's waist. At that, I decide to stay in bed. Cleaning can wait a little longer, and it certainly isn't worth waking both Sasuke _and_ Naruto after such a long night ( I still feel quite bad about the nail marks I left on Naruto's back- I owe him a quiet morning after _that_).

I love these mornings.

This is when our priorities shift.

Techniques are and weapons are pushed aside.

Rivals and enemies are temporarily forgotten.

It's times like these when all that matters is that the three of us are finally complete.

Sasuke moves his hand to play with a piece of my hair, and I flinch when it brushes against one of the many bruises that must have formed overnight. He frowns a little.

"Your neck hurts?"

"It'll heal, just like it did last time." Though we're talking in whispers, Naruto stirs just a bit again and snuggles closer to Sasuke's back.

Suddenly tired again, I brush my lips against his, and close my eyes.

"Okay, just a little longer."  
----------------------------------

**A/N:** Short... but I think most of them will be. Maybe I'll try to write out a relatively long one at some point, but the ones I have already are mostly closer to drabbles (a bit longer... but not by that much).

Title taken from "Beautiful Morning With You", by The Pillows.

Up next: All Through the Night

_"You're both idiots..." He muttered. Then he smiled. _


	2. All Through the Night

**A/N: **Much thanks to my only reviewer, strength-91-possibility-none. Also much thanks to the few of you who added this to your favorites/alerts.

I think I got Sasuke rather decently in this one... Not so sure about Kakashi, but at the moment I guess he doesn't matter much ;)

**Harmony**  
All Through the Night  
By Bunny-Chan 

_"All through the night, I'll be awake and I'll be with you  
All through the night- this precious time when time is new  
Oh, all through the night today  
Knowing that we feel the same without saying_

_We have no past, we won't reach back  
Keep with me forward all through the night"_

- "All Through the Night", Cyndi Lauper

He had been slightly harder on her than necessary that day.

_"You're almost useless. Isn't it about time you tried to actually _do_ something?"_

The image of shock and hurt written on her face was burned into his mind, but he would continue to defend his words with the reply of "She deserved it.", no matter how annoyed Kakashi seemed to be with him.

Not to say he wasn't worried- he was. He was even more worried that Naruto was missing as well.

"Nothing in town." Kakashi's voice startled him. He hated it when he couldn't detect his sensei's approach. "I assume you found nothing more in their homes when you went back?"

"Nothing." Kakashi sighed.

"Alright... I'll keep searching the village. Go look in the woods."

"Hn." Sasuke took off without another word. He had barely entered the forest when he heard something completely out of place in the its usual nighttime quiet.

_People fighting...?_

He ducked behind a bush at the edge of the clearing, hiding before he could see what was happening.

_The stars and moon are so bright tonight- there's no way I can step into that clearing and remain unnoticed._ He still noted, despite precautions, that he was not getting a feeling of imminent danger from whoever occupied the small field.

"That's it- you asked for it!"

_Sakura...?_

"Haha, just try it!"

_Naruto!_

At that, he stepped out from hiding.

Sakura and Naruto were running at each other, each with a kunai in hand. They both looked completely worn.

_They've been training all this time?_

Before they even reached each other, both of them stopped, breathing heavily.

"Come on... Naruto..." Sakura gasped out. "We have to... keep going. It's not enough yet."

"Ne, Sakura-chan, it's been hours! I'm so sore!"

"Idiots." His teammates snapped to attention, relaxing a little when they realized it was only him. They began to walk forward, arms around each other for support. Sasuke didn't move to help them, instead sitting on the grass and waiting.

After a few minutes, Naruto finally crawled into Sasuke's lap, curling into a ball. Sakura tried to stand a little longer, but wound up collapsing at Sasuke's side, content to just lean against him, too exhausted to hold herself up.

"You're both idiots." He muttered. Then he smiled. One hand ruffled Naruto's hair and the other ran through Sakura's short pink locks.

"But at least you're both _my_ idiots."  
-------------------------------------

**A/N:** Not all of these will use songs for titles. But the lyrics for that song just seemed right for this. Also... ooc-ness is probably abundant in these. I'm just starting to become indifferent, lol. Update will be tomorrow.

Next- Threes

_"I think things are better in threes."  
__"Like what?"_


	3. Threes

**A/N: **The next few are _very_ short (after that they lengthen up a little), so as a compromise, the next update will be at about 4:30 today.

**Harmony**  
Threes  
By Bunny-Chan

Naruto looked up into the velvety black sky with a grin.

Sakura was laying back against his chest, Sasuke lying with his head in her lap, dark eyes always open and on the lookout for danger.

"You know what?" Sasuke didn't move, but Sakura looked up at him curiously.

"Huh?"

He looked down at her, still smiling widely.

"I think things are better in threes."

"Like what?"

"Well... Three bowls of ramen is better than two!"

"Pig." The smile on her face told him she was only kidding, and, thus, he continued.

"Three days off school were always better than just two."

"Lazy." This time Sasuke laughed, just a little.

"You know what else is better in threes?"

"What now?"

"Sex!"

"Pervert." Sakura closed her eyes again. A few minutes later, she opened them and looked back up at him. "... You're right. Sex _is_ better in threes."

------------------------------  
**A/N:** It just seems so... Naruto-ish...

Remember guys- reviews are happy things!

Coming next- Watching

_He hated it when he wasn't included._


	4. Watching

**A/N:** I've gotten a good amount of hits on this so far, but very few reviews. Reviews really help writers understand what the readers like, and what they might want to work on. Not to mention, after the hard work that went into some of these, it's nice to hear feedback. So... please?

Mm... anyway, this is another short one, as will be part five. After that they lengthen up a little. Well... Most of them, anyway.

**Harmony**  
Watching  
By Bunny-Chan 

She had to admit, Naruto really _was_ a quick learner.

In the beginning, he'd had absolutely no idea what he was doing (not to say that her or Sasuke were very experienced either, but Naruto was absolutely clueless). She felt his hands push her dress up to her chest, and then tug it off over her head.

"Oh..."

And damn, he was good with his hands.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sasuke's face twitch as Naruto's mouth met her own.

He hated it when he wasn't included.

Growling a little, he walked over to where Naruto had her pinned down and pulled him up before they could get too far.

"It's always her." He growled, pushing Naruto down and beginning to unzip his orange and blue jacket.

Sakura just giggled, leaning back to watch them each struggle for dominance.

She, for one, definitely didn't mind just watching.

------------------------------

**A/N:** There's a good possibility I'll be able to update tomorrow, but I'm moving into my dorm room on Friday and starting classes on Tuesday, so I can't guarantee any more than one update a week after that. I'll try though, since these pieces just keep coming to me so quickly.

If you're looking for more action than just lightly implied, it's still light, but part 15 has a bit more... well... substance to it. Not to mention is longer (I can't help shamelessly promoting it already... I just finished it and am so in love with it. If only I didn't have ten other parts to post first)

Coming next- Birthday Shopping

_"Oh, Sasuke-kun! Are you shopping for Naruto's gift too?"_


	5. Birthday Shopping

**A/N:** I made the mistake of watching the American dub of Naruto last night because I wanted to see how they dubbed some of my favorite episodes (I'm specifically anxious for episodes 32 and 33... I have to catch a rerun though, since I never payed attention to it when they first aired here). When I write these, I always try to picture the scenes happening, and it's hard because I'm very limited in my knowledge of the Japanese language, but I still try to imagine their voices the way they are originally. The dub voice acting killed that for me, lmao. It's just so weird to think about now.

Anywho...The thought of Sasuke trying to shop for birthday presents just makes me laugh. Unfortunately, this one turned out far too short to showcase that...

**Harmony**  
Birthday Shopping  
By Bunny-Chan 

Shops lined the street as far as he could see, but that didn't make Uchiha Sasuke any better at shopping.

_By now I should have some idea of what he'd want..._ Yet still, nothing. _Stupid birthdays. They're not worth the trouble._

Around the next corner, he saw nothing that jumped out at him, with the exception of a head of bright pink hair.

"Oi, Sakura!" She turned, looking around. "Over here!"

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" She waved excitedly, running over to him for a quick, awkwardly returned hug. "Are you shopping for Naruto's gift too?"

"Yes... but, uh..." He was almost nervous- a feeling he didn't get too often. "I'm no good at it." He mumbled, looking off to the side. Sakura gave him a disappointed smile and held up a bag filled with what appeared to be cup ramen.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not either." She admitted, laughing a little. She paused a moment, and then grinned.

_Sometimes it's almost scary when she does that... I have no idea what she's thinking._

"But..." He gave her a skeptical look. "I've got an idea of what we can give him, Sasuke-kun." She winked and stuck out her tongue before flicking his nose lightly. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward her own home.

"Wh-what?"

"Haha, I bet you know!"  
---------------------------------

**A/N:** There's a continuing part to this too... part seven, which is a couple pages longer than this, to make up for the fact that there were quite a few in a row that were extremely short.

I should be able to get online from my dorm at anytime, so I'll try to update as soon as possible after I move in. No promises though.

Coming next- Incomplete

_"Naruto... do you ever feel like something's missing?"_


	6. Incomplete

**A/N: **I honestly don't like this one... nor am I fond of it's continuing part, part eight. It's probably crazily and completely ooc, just for a warning. It's also just... I don't know... weird. However, I know that if I don't post it, I'll wind up regretting it.

And feedback? I mean... As much as compliments are always appreciated, but constructive criticism is way useful too... It's just crazy to have over 300 hits and only 4 reviews (though much thanks and a mini-shoutout to strength-91-possibility-none, who's reviewed almost each chapter!)

**Harmony**  
Incomplete  
By Bunny-Chan 

Naruto frowned.

It wasn't that he had a problem with a day of no sex, but Sasuke seemed far too preoccupied to just be "tired", like he claimed. It worried him.

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke's dark eyes turned to him, but he still didn't speak.

"You okay?"

"Naruto..." Sasuke stopped speaking, mouth still open. It was weird to see him look so hesitant. "Do you ever feel like maybe... something's missing?" Naruto blinked.

"Huh...? Like what...?"

"Like... we're not complete."

"I don't know. I don't ever think about it."

After all, why should he?

He had a boyfriend. That was all he should worry about, right?

But maybe... just maybe Sasuke was right.

"Do you still like Sakura?"

_Sakura-chan? Why's he asking about her? But I guess..._

"Yeah, kind of." Feeling the need to counteract his statement with some affection, he walked up behind Sasuke, who was still staring thoughtfully out the window, and wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck.

"Maybe we should ask her if... Well, you know." Naruto finally caught on to what Sasuke had been getting at, and let his hold loosen, shocked.

"Ask her to be _our_ girlfriend?" He asked, incredulously. Sasuke looked away.

"Yeah, you're right, stupid idea."

Naruto, however, had just gone from silently surprised to ecstatic.

"That's a great idea! I bet that will make everything right!"

"Well yeah... I mean, we _are_ a team."

Naruto stopped suddenly, hit with a thought.

"But... Doesn't that sound weird? 'Our girlfriend'?" He pouted.

_She'd probably hit me and call me a pervert. Then she won't talk to me again for weeks!_

"I don't know... I have a feeling she might want it too."

"Are you sure...?"

"Trust me." Naruto grinned.

"So when do we talk to her?"

Sasuke stood up, finally looking more like his normal self. He pushed Naruto down on the bed.

"How about tomorrow?"  
-------------------------------

**A/N:** Bah... my least favorite.

Next update should be Saturday evening or so, after I get my laptop.

Coming next- The Perfect Gift

_"Sakura, I look so stupid!"  
__"Oh, but Sasuke-kun, I think it's cute... and I bet Naruto will love it." She winked, completely ignoring Sasuke's mortification every time he took another look in the mirror._


	7. The Perfect Gift

**A/N:** The majority of these always have something about sex in them... I think after this one, I _might_ try for a couple that are just... cute and sweet.

This is the follow-up of 'Birthday Shopping', unfortunately much more ooc though... Also quite SasuSaku-centric. Guess it's a bit of my favorite pairing shining through.

PS. While avoiding orientation events is apparently difficult, I should be able to update now that I'm online in my dorm. I need to stop updating this so quickly though... Eventually I'll run out of parts to post.

**Harmony**  
The Perfect Gift  
By Bunny-Chan 

"Why does everything have to turn into sex?"

She could barely hear Sasuke's voice through the door, so she nudged it open a little.

"Well, I would be fine with a candlelight dinner for _my_ birthday... but we're talking about Naruto." She fluffed out her hair, still trying to get it perfect. "There are two things we know he'll love- ramen, and sex."

"Aren't you starting to feel like maybe that's all there is to us?" His tone wasn't at all thoughtful. In fact, it seemed more like a statement than a question.

She had to admit, hearing him say that made her quite sad.

She took one last look at herself in the mirror.

Her soft pink hair clashed brightly with the orange bra and panties, but she had made sure to find a set that was in Naruto's favorite color. The orange ribbon in her hair was pulled off to the side a little, almost obnoxiously oversized.

Content with her image, she stepped into her bedroom, where she saw Sasuke sitting stiffly on the bed, in the orange t-shirt and boxers she'd told him to wear.

"Do I look okay?"

"Hn."

Sakura pouted.

_Does something like that really bother him so much?_

She walked over and climbed up on the bed, straddling his waist.

"Don't be like that. Of course there's more to us." The words came out quieter than she'd intended, but not because she didn't want to be heard. Moments with just her and Sasuke were quite rare, and she felt the sudden need for softness. She placed her hands on either side of his face, determined to kiss away the glare that had been etched there for over an hour. "I love you." She brushed her lips against his forehead. "You love me." Then she rubbed her nose against his. "He loves us." She placed her lips tenderly on his, feeling his face soften at her touch. "And we love him."

Setting her forehead against his, she looked into his eyes, smiling at how he still tried to keep up the scowl.

Still straddling him, she leaned to the side, reaching for a length of the same orange ribbon that was tied in her hair.

"Now hold still." She grinned mischievously, knowing that the Uchiha boy already hadn't been thrilled with her plan, especially all the garish orange attire. His eyes widened when he realized that she was going to put the ribbon on _him_.

"Sakura, don't you dare!" Before he could push her off of him, she looped the ribbon around his neck, and pushed him down with her occasionally freakish strength. She pressed her lips to his while tying the ribbon firmly.

"I promise this _will_ be worth it." She stood up again as Sasuke twitched, feeling the bow around his neck, but he didn't take it off. Pulling him in front of the mirror with her, Sakura smiled.

"See, we look amazing!"

"_You_ look amazing, you mean." He mumbled darkly.

"Oh, don't be like that!"

"Sakura, I look so stupid!"

"Oh, but Sasuke-kun, I think it's cute... and I bet Naruto will love it." She winked, completely ignoring Sasuke's mortification every time he took another look in the mirror. "I told Iruka-Sensei to bring Naruto here after they finish their ramen. It's so much nicer here than at his place! It's so convenient mom's away this week!"

"How can you have so much damn energy when you're wearing the ugliest color ever?"

"Well... no one ever said Naruto had much fashion sense..." Even Sasuke had to smile at that. No matter how much they would pick on Naruto, he was a part of them.

As if on cue, they heard the door downstairs open.

"Oi, Sakura-chan!" She noted that he sounded excited.

"Upstairs, Naruto." She called out the doorway, winking at Sasuke, who still wore a scowl on his face.

"This bow is degrading..." He mumbled, pulling out the giant box they had filled with instant ramen earlier that day, before tying it closed with the ribbon she knew would haunt his nightmares for the next week or so. "Come to think of it, this whole _thing_ is degrading."

"Eh," Sakura climbed up onto the box, positioning herself as cutely as possible while still retaining at least some shred of dignity. "If you're sexy, you may as well use it!"

Their attention was caught by the opening door. Naruto's blue eyes peeked in, almost as if he was afraid of what he would find.

Sakura giggled as the door opened all the way, eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Wha... What's this...?" He asked cautiously, eyes moving from serious Sasuke to flirty Sakura, and then curiously to the box beneath her. She smiled, reaching down to ruffle Sasuke's hair (only serving to make him look more agitated).

"Happy birthday Naruto!" She yelled out, throwing her arms in the air excitedly. Sasuke made a valiant effort to smile, though it was not of his nature, and therefore still appeared forced.

"Everything with an orange ribbon on it is yours."

----------------------------------------

Much, much later, the three exhausted shinobi collapsed on the bed in a heap.

"This was the best birthday present ever!" Naruto sighed, already halfway through his box of ramen.

Sakura was still panting lightly when Sasuke nudged her.

"Just so you know, you were right." She looked at him, not knowing what he was talking about. He motioned his head toward Naruto, who was too busy shoving ramen down his throat to listen. "That really was worth the freaking orange ribbons."

----------------------------------------

**A/N: **I think that, even though this definitely wasn't the greatest installment, this one was the one I had the most fun writing. The image of Sakura and Sasuke from this story just amuses me. I'm thinking I'll have to draw some fanart for it.

Coming next- Finally (Follow-up to Incomplete)

_"Um... Sakura-chan..." Naruto was already turning bright red, so Sasuke took care of it for him.  
__"Naruto and I have something we want to discuss with you." _


	8. Finally

**A/N:** Well, I've spent a good majority of the night crying in my dorm room, so I guess I'm going to put up a new chapter anyway, even though I should wait. At least then I might feel like I'm accomplishing _something_.

Apparently trying for all one-shots kind of eluded me, because this is the second part of this I've done that stems out from an earlier installment... Then again, I figure no one's going to be that picky about it. This is the continuing part to 'Incomplete', which I hate almost as much.

**Harmony**  
Finally  
By Bunny-Chan

At the sound of knocking, Sasuke and Naruto shared the same apprehensive glance. Naruto's hand hovered over the doorknob, and he looked back at Sasuke with a look of almost complete horror.

The dark-haired boy regained his composure much more quickly than his companion, giving his teammate a nod.

"It's okay. Just open it."

Naruto obeyed, opening the door to reveal a rather impatient Sakura.

"Naruto, first you ask me over and then you take forever to-" She stopped midsentence, finally realizing they weren't alone. "Oh... Sasuke-kun..." She looked back and forth between them, noticing that both boys seemed off, just slightly. "Is everything alright...?"

"Um... Sakura-chan... Care for some tea?" Hearing the hesitation in the blonde's usually energetic voice seemed to only add to her worry, but she nodded slowly and took a seat at his table, while he started to boil water.

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto, and then focused on Sakura.

I've never even thought about something like this before... How... How do you bring something like this up?

She seemed oblivious to his staring, even when she turned to him.

"Sasuke-kun... What's going on? You guys are really scaring me..."

Naruto chose that moment to set down a single cup of tea in front of the kunoichi. He sat down next to Sasuke. They looked at each other, but this time it was Naruto who nodded slightly, indicating he would start.

"Um... Sakura-chan..." He was already turning bright red, so Sasuke took care of it for him.

"Naruto and I have something we want to discuss with you."

She looked more afraid suddenly, frantically looking back and forth between them as Naruto rested a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke and I are... well... together." Her face fell.

"Oh..." Her eyes cast off to the side sadly.

_Dammit, she's getting the wrong idea!_

"No, that's not it!" Sasuke said, a little too quickly for Naruto's liking. He sensed the fox-boy's slight jealousy and calmed down. "What I mean is... Well... We're missing someone." Her mouth formed into an 'o'.

"What...?"

She looks confused. I don't blame her... it's a lot to process...

"Sakura-chan... We're missing _you_." Naruto reached out his hand, laying it on her own. Sasuke hesitated for a moment, but then also put a hand on Naruto's.

She looked absolutely shocked, and, for a moment, he was worried she might tell them off.

But suddenly her face broke into a bright smile.

"I've been missing something too." She admitted, putting her free hand on top of Sasuke's. "I think I just realized what it is."

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**A/N:** I don't know why... I always picture it happening similar to that. Maybe not that exact situation, but as in Naruto and Sasuke starting up first, and then Sakura becoming a part of it. Huh.

I hate that one... but the next one is one of my favorites that I've done so far.

Coming next- Isshoni

_They had to put extra care into moving while still holding on to one another, but after another painfully freezing half-hour, they finally managed to find a small cave in the hillside._


	9. Isshoni

**A/N:** I absolutely love this story. Not much actually i happens /i but I still thought it was rather cute.

Because no collection will ever be complete without the "Hey, let's cuddle for body warmth!" story.

**Harmony**  
Isshoni  
By Bunny-Chan 

"We need to find shelter quickly." Sasuke's strong voice broke out somewhere to her left, but the snowstorm blocked out any view of his form. "It's getting darker- we'll die if we don't find someplace by nightfall." He nearly had to yell over the howling winds.

"Hey! Where are you guys!" Naruto cried frantically from her right.

"Everyone stop." She followed Sasuke's order, wondering if Naruto would do the same. "Sakura, you sound closest."

"I think I am- You're to my left. Naruto is somewhere to my right."

"Alright, start talking. Anything will do." She obediently started listing off rules she'd learned in school, closing her eyes to block out the ice and wind that stung her face. A few moments later, she felt a hand take hers, and opened her eyes slightly to see Sasuke there. He gripped her hand firmly. "Naruto, say something."

Immediately they could hear him complaining. "Stupid Sasuke, why do you get to be the hero, huh? I bet I could-"

"Shut up." Sakura took Naruto's hand in hers as he pouted.

They had to put extra care into moving while still holding on to one another, but after another painfully freezing half-hour, they finally managed to find a small cave in the hillside.

The fire provided some warmth, but the shinobi team was still feeling unbearably cold.

"I don't think I'll ever be warm again." Naruto grumbled as Sakura began setting out the sleeping bags.

"Um, Naruto...? Where's your pack?" She asked, looking around the small cave. Naruto's face flashed a horrified look as he frantically scanned the area.

"I... don't know..."

"What the hell do you mean 'I don't know'!" Sasuke growled. "How incompetent can you be on an important mission?" Sakura frowned as her two teammates began a full-blown argument. She hated it when they did this. Sighing, she unzipped both her and Sasuke's sleeping bags. She hadn't had the need to do it in a long time (since her sleepover days when she and Ino were children), but she was fairly certain that she could connect the zippers to make one sleeping bag big enough for the three of them. Behind her, they were still yelling, so she stripped off her partially frozen coat and crawled into the sleeping bag alone. Used to their loud fighting, she eased into sleep quite quickly.

------------------------------------

Hours later, Sakura awoke, feeling surprisingly warm, and much safer than she should feel in an unknown territory.

Opening her eyes, she realized the source of her warmth. She was looking into Naruto's sleeping face. Behind her, she could feel Sasuke pressed against her back. The boys' hands were laced together, resting on top of her thigh.

She smiled.

No wonder she felt so safe.

------------------------------------

**A/N:** And to think... I never thought I was capable of writing anything that cheesy.

Not sure when the next update will be. Classes start tomorrow, but I have a two-hour break between computer game programming and chem, so I might do that then if there's not too much homework or anything. The next part is one of a set of three, one from each character.

Coming next- For Them (Sakura)

Absentmindedly, I reached for some strands of my long pink hair. Twirling it was a habit I've had for years.  
_But where my hair should have been, I only felt air. _

_'That's right... I cut it... back there...' _


	10. For Them: Sakura

**A/N:** Another earlier-than-planned chapter in celebration of computer game programming being the best class ever, and the option to enroll in accelerated chemistry.

This will be one of a little three-part set, one for each character. Sakura's was undoubtedly the easiest to write... but for a bit of clearing up- this isn't meant to sound shallow of her. I know hair isn't the biggest deal ever, but I wanted to hit on what it stood for. Hopefully I did that well enough. This, and the next four parts are pretty short, but fifteen is the longest of the collection so far, as well as the best, so it evens out :)

Takes place after the preliminaries for the third exam, but before Ino and Sakura go to visit Sasuke and Lee in the hopsital. Reflects on the 32nd episode (volume 6 of the manga).

**Harmony**  
For Them - Sakura  
By Bunny-Chan 

No matter how much I wanted to avoid retaking the chuunin exam, I knew it would be inevitable, so I set my mind to both training and studying as soon as we returned home from the second test.

Training was difficult, my mind always going back to Sasuke, who I was unable to visit in the hospital, so for now, I focused on studying everything I could.

The book in front of me was filled with things I already knew, but I was reading every word anyway. Absentmindedly, I reached for some strands of my long pink hair. Twirling it was a habit I'd had for years.

But where my hair should have been, I only felt air.

_What the-_ I turned to the mirror on my wall. Staring back at me was my image, but with a haircut I had yet to get used to. _That's right... I cut it... back there..._

The images flowed uninvited into my mind.

Images of the sound ninja, Kin, grabbing a fistful of my hair, and the shock on her face when I cut it off in one swift motion. Images of her teammate, Zaku, repeatedly hitting me, despite my kunai in one of his arms and my teeth buried in his other.

That was when my hair didn't seem to matter so much, because along with those images came the memories of Sasuke and Naruto unable to fight.

Unable to protect themselves.

Depending on me.

That's why I did it.

I did it for them.

-------------------------------  
**A/N:** Bah... the next two were so hard.

Up next- For Them (Sasuke)

_Something was wrong. I had far too much power. Honestly, I loved it.  
__What I did _not_ love, was looking at Sakura's bruised face. Her crudely cut hair. Her swollen eye. I took note that Naruto was out of commission  
__At that moment, I decided that if one has power, they may as well use it. . _


	11. For Them: Sasuke

**A/N:** I feel bad for only uploading such a short chapter... so here's another. I have a couple more of these to write out tonight too, as well as a few new ideas.

Sasuke's was harder to write than I expected... I had expected Naruto's to be the hardest, but this definitely rivals that... Ah well. This, obviously, takes place during episode 33 (I haven't been watching the American dub, but I'm just assuming all the episode numbers are the same). I forget which manga chapter it is... one of the ones in volume 7, I do believe.

PS. Reviews make me happy. Please?

**Harmony**  
For Them- Sasuke  
By Bunny-Chan 

I woke up feeling that something was wrong.

_Very_ wrong.

I had far too much power. Honestly, I loved it.

What I did _not_ love, however, was looking at Sakura's bruised face. Her crudely cut, dirty hair. Her swollen eye from which now-dried tears had left clean lines through the dirt and blood coating her face.

I liked the look of horror on her face even less, but the curse spreading through my body was far too enticing to abandon, even for her.

I had already taken note that Naruto was out of commission, but he appeared to be in better condition than our teammate, so I didn't waste energy worrying. They hadn't attacked him. _Yet._

At that moment, I decided that if one has power, they may as well use it.

Turning my attention back to Sakura, I asked her who had hurt her, anxious to destroy them.

She cried out something about the marks which were still spreading slowly along my skin, but I told her not to worry and then repeated my question. A boy I only slightly recognized from the first exam then made the mistake of opening his mouth and practically offering himself up for death.

"It was just me!"

I turned to him, ready to make him pay, but he unleashed a deadly blast of air.

Moving faster than I had ever thought possible, I grabbed Naruto first, and then Sakura, moving them both to safety.

It was mere moments before I had the sound ninja's wrists in my hands. He was on his knees, my foot pressing onto his back.

"'I'm proud of my arms most', right?" I grinned, the madness taking over even more completely. My grin widened as I heard a sound that told me his arms were ruined, reducing him to a screaming, useless heap.

One was left.

One more to ruin.

The fear in his only visible eye was calling to me.

I had to hurt him.

I had to _destroy_ him.

_I had to-_

"Stop!"

A pair of arms thrown around me halted my advance.

At first I was angry, then confused.

Sakura was holding onto me, crying.

"Please... stop."

Knowing that I was the one hurting her this time brought back a bit of sensibility.

I started to force the curse back, thinking of my two friends.

My only friends.

I could not make Sakura cry again.

I could not make Naruto worry.

I would abandon the power, at least the time being.

_For them._

----------------------------------  
**A/N:** There are probably other scenes I could have used, but episode 32 is my absolute favorite, so I often end up too lazy to switch the dvd when it ends and episode 33 starts. I've seen it waaaaay too many times to ignore it. I don't know how well I turned a general SasuSaku moment into a SasuSakuNaru moment... but hopefully it worked out well enough.

Coming next- For Them (Naruto)

_Sakura's effect on me was obvious. I knew how I felt about her.  
__Sasuke was more of a mystery. I had always thought I'd rather be without him. Somehow, without realizing it, he had found his way into my heart._


	12. For Them: Naruto

**A/N:** I couldn't really think of a scene I wanted to use for this... so I just didn't a general point in time... Naruto's was almost as hard to do as Sasuke's... Sorry for any ooc-ness.

And maybe the general suckiness too.

Takes place after the Haku episodes and before the team returns to Konoha.

**Harmony**  
For Them- Naruto  
By Bunny-Chan 

What I had witnessed between Haku and Zabuza changed me.

Never before had I seen such selflessness or love.

Before now, I guess I hadn't even known what love was.

I looked ahead at Sakura and Sasuke. As always, she was hanging all over him while he ignored her.

_How can he ignore someone as cute as Sakura-chan?_ I sighed, looking closer at them.

Sakura-chan... The girl I had liked for years. She was amazingly pretty. Her pink hair was unique, probably part of her allure. I constantly tried to get her attention. Still, she continued to ignore my efforts. She was excellent at chakra control, and the smartest in our graduating class, even if not the greatest fighter. I was still a failure. That put us in entirely different leagues.

And, of course, Sasuke... To everyone else he was Mr. Perfect. To me, he was the stupid jerk-face always looking down on me.

Still, my hate for him was diminishing.

When I thought he had died back in the fight against Haku, I realized just how empty I would be without him.

Sakura's effect on me was obvious. I knew how I felt about her.

Sasuke was more of a mystery. I had always thought I'd rather be without him. Somehow, without my ever realizing it, he had found his way into my heart.

That day, I made myself a promise.

No matter how much Sakura yelled at me or Sasuke pissed me off, I would give anything to ensure their safety.

I would fight any enemy.

Only for them.

_Maybe _this_ is what love is. _

-------------------------------------------

**A/N:** Okay... probably sappier than Naruto would be that early in the series...

Coming next- Great Explanations

_"I saw you and Naruto out holding hands yesterday." Ino glared a little. "I still consider Sasuke a friend, and if you're cheating on him-" Sakura threw her hands up in defense.  
__"No!"_


	13. Great Explanations

**A/N:** It makes me sad that the Naruto archives are just updated nonstop and reviews are rarer these days. It feels so much less personal than it used to, now that the series has been gaining popularity... Overall quality has dropped too... (Though originality seems to have increased- it's nice to see more people coming up with brand new ideas) And someone probably will flame the hell out of me for saying that, but it's just a random observation that's been bothering me for the past couple months. If anyone has any thoughts on that (agreement, disagreement, whatever), contact me, I suppose. It's interesting to hear what people think of certain archives now compared to a few years ago.

Anywho... This one, along with Incomplete and Finally, honestly kind of bothers me. I'm not sure why. Probably partially the terrible, terrible title. I was drawing a blank, and then decided to make a horrible pun of the phrase 'great expectations', lmao. Okay... so it's not funny, just bad.

I think I need to get back to writing out the ones that go on about moments, like the first two.

**Harmony**  
Great Explanations  
By Bunny-Chan 

Sakura didn't know what was stranger- that Ino had been so insistent that she stop by the flower shop, or that the blonde met her with a cold look.

"What's up, Ino?" She asked, sure that today would not be a good one for their usual teasing and name-calling.

"Sakura... I know it's not really my business now that I'm dating Shikamaru, but... you and Sasuke are still together, right?"

"Yeah... How come?" Ino hesitated. "Ino, what is it?"

"I saw you and Naruto out holding hands yesterday." Ino glared a little. "It looked like a _lot_ more than 'just friends'. I still consider Sasuke my friend, so if you're cheating on him-" Sakura threw her hands up in defense.

"No!" Her blonde friend gave her a suspicious look.

"Then what was that about?" She inquired.

"I'm going out with Naruto too!" Sakura stammered out before thinking of her wording. "I mean-" Ino's mouth fell opn.

"What about Sasuke!" She cried out.

"Well, sometimes he and Naruto go out without me... it's not like it's not fair!" The pink-haired kunoichi suddenly realized she still wasn't helping to explain very well, as, this time, her friend just blinked.

"Wait... Naruto and Sasuke?" Sakura nodded, turning slightly red.

"We're kind of all together." She admitted quietly, looking away. Ino was the first person she had actually _told_ about team seven's strange relationship, and the look her friend was giving her didn't help to reassure her.

"And... how exactly does that work?" She asked, disbelief written all over her face.

"I don't know... but we've managed so far, so I guess it's all okay."

"Isn't that awkward?" Ino shook her head. "Sakura... you're getting into a relationship with two boys at once? Who are in a relationship with each other? That's going to end disastrously. What are you getting yourself into." When she saw Sakura's eyes steel over, she sighed. " What do people even say?"

"I used to be so embarrassed and afraid of what people might think. The truth is, I really don't care anymore." She smiled genuinely, picking up a daffodil and tigerlily, Handing them to Ino so she could tie a ribbon around each, she gave the girl a 'I know what I'm doing' look. "I love them and they love me, so it's okay." Ino still looked apprehensive, but gave Sakura a small smile.

"Well... If you're so sure, then I'm happy for you." She handed Sakura the two flowers. "Can I ask you something though?"

"Sure."

"You can't tell anyone, especially not Shikamaru!"

"I won't." She looked back at Ino curiously as the girl glanced around for anyone who might overhear and then leaned forward, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Is Sasuke any good in bed?"

"Like you would _not_ believe."

--------------------------------------

**A/N:** It seemed like such an Ino thing to ask that I couldn't help myself.

The official, very short countdown to part fifteen (my favorite personal peice of writing ever, and the longest part of this so far) has begun: 1 more update before chapter 15 is posted

Coming next- Nightmare

_Looking to his left, he saw Sakura, cuddled against his shoulder. To his right was Sasuke, his arm draped loosely around his waist._


	14. Nightmare

**A/N:** The part after this is lengthier. Hopefully that makes the shortness of this one worth it.

And I'm retyping the beginning part while listening to the music from the opening of .hack/Outbreak. I always try to picture my stories happening, and it was pretty damn graphic. It's starting to creep me out a little.

**Harmony**  
Nightmare  
By Bunny-Chan 

They made their way through the forest quickly, desperate for any place they could find to hide.

_Naruto didn't know who or what was after them- All he knew was that they were in danger. _

_Sakura was the first to fall. Her foot slipped from beneath her, but neither boy noticed until it was too late. Sasuke tried to run back to save her, but within seconds, her body had become the human equivalent of a pincushion. Several more kunai flew straight at Sasuke, one cutting deeply into his side. _

_Tears were already running down Naruto's face, but he knew Sakura was gone. _

_"Sasuke, come on!" He grabbed the other boy's arm, pulling the boy back into action. They ran, Sasuke's hand trying to hold his wound together, the blood running out too quickly. _

_They hadn't gotten far before he collapsed, the cut having bled out far too much. _

_Naruto could no longer sense their enemy anywhere, but it didn't matter. The damage had been done. Sakura was the only one with enough chakra control to heal the wound. They were too far from the hospital. It was inevitable. _

All he could do was watch Sasuke fade away, lying next to Sakura's broken body.

Naruto woke with a start, heart thudding deafeningly.

_Calm down, just calm down!_

His eyes darted frantically around the room, too frantically to really acknowledge anything they saw.

Realizing it was only his room, he relaxed. On either side of him, he could feel a sleeping body.

Looking to his left, he saw the top of Sakura's head- a mass of bright pink hair. She was cuddled against his shoulder, still asleep. To his right was Sasuke, his arm draped loosely around Naruto's waist.

He eased his breathing, relieved he hadn't woken either of them.

Settling back into the pillow, he smiled, grateful to know everything was okay.

---------------------------------  
**A/N:** The next one has some more substance to it, I promise.

Haha, official countdown says: Next update is part fifteen! XD Maybe I'm too excited?

Coming next- Of Shampoo and Deep Conditioning  
(dedicated to Katie)

_"Naruto, don't you know what happens to boys who interrupt their team member's showers?" She grinned, making eye contact with Sasuke. "They get their hair done! And you're so lucky! I just bought more cherry blossom shampoo!" Naruto's face was a painting of horror. He looked frantically back at Sasuke.  
"But... that's for girls!" Sasuke shrugged.  
"You _did_ insist that we play a joke on her while she was showering. I'd say you deserve it."_


	15. Of Shampoo and Deep Conditioning

**A/N:** Much thanks again to my few reviewers. You guys have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you for your feedback :)

This is my favorite thing that I've ever written, lmao, so I'm really, really hoping that all of you will like it as well.

This is dedicated to my friend Katie or simplybemused on LJ) who wrote an amazing little NaruSakuSasu for me on her LJ back in August. She's one of the few people I actually know in real life who shares all my little obsessions, especially when they're Naruto-based. She deserves it :)

Cookies to anyone who can spot the minor flaw in my storytelling that I was way too lazy to edit, lmao.

**Harmony**  
Of Shampoo and Deep Conditioning  
By Bunny-Chan 

Anxious to grow it out again, Sakura had come up with a fairly good way to focus on both her hair and her training.

How had she done this?

A simple, but well adhered to, set of rules.

For every two hours spent training during one week, she could use conditioner on her hair once during the next.

For every new technique learned (or personal goal reached), she earned one hot oil treatment for herself.

For every day where she failed to train for at least half an hour, she would have to cut off a centimeter. In the beginning she had thought that rule was very light, before (after a fateful week of lethargy) she found that a centimeter a day adds up very quickly.

All in all, those rules had been doing wonders for her. She'd never looked so pretty, nor had she ever been able to use so many jutsus or attack so flawlessly.

This particular night found her sitting on the floor of the shower, sitting against the wall. She'd used a generous amount of conditioner that night (a reward for five full hours of training four days ago) and was now letting the heat from the water help her soaked pink locks absorb the moisture completely.

It had only been a minute or so before she heard the door creak open.

_I know I closed that all the way..._ Carefully peeking out of the shower she was met with... nothing. _Probably just the wind... maybe it didn't catch when I shut it. _

She settled back against the wall again. As soon as the sound was pushed to the back of her mind, she heard a small crash. She peeked out, more frightened this time. On the floor she could see a few bottles. Sasuke's cologne, her facewash, and a tube of toothpaste had rolled their different ways upon hitting the surface, but she could still see no sign of people.

Shaking, she dismissed it as the wind again, and pulled the curtain so that it would block out all views of the bathroom. She sighed, reaching up for the soap on the shelf. Before she could, the curtain moved suddenly, and she saw a hand grip the edge.

_Oh my god! Am I going to die? Am I being attacked?_

The curtain flung open, revealing...

"NARUTO!" She flung the bar of soap at him, and he tried his best to catch it, but it slipped out of his hands and hit him directly on the nose. Behind him, Sasuke shrugged.

"It was his idea." Was all he said.

Sakura glared up. Both boys were only in their boxers, ready for bed, but after the scare Naruto had given her, she had no intention of letting him walk away without revenge.

"Naruto, don't you know what happens to boys who interrupt their team member's showers?" She grinned, making eye contact with Sasuke. "They get their hair done! And you're so lucky! I just bought more cherry blossom shampoo!" Naruto's face was a painting of horror. He looked frantically back at Sasuke.

"But... that's for girls!" Sasuke shrugged.

"You did insist that we play a joke on her while she was showering. I'd say you deserve it." Naruto turned to escape the bathroom, but Sakura grabbed onto his waist, pulling as hard as she could.

Her super-strength seemed to come and go in unreliable spurts, but it was definitely there now. Using it, she dragged him into the shower, Sasuke slipping in after him.

"Okay Sasuke-kun, you hold him, and I'll do the rest!" Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto, who still looked horrified as Sakura started rubbing a handful of her shampoo into his bright yellow hair. "Your hair will smell so nice after this!" She laughed.

"I'm going to smell like a girl!" He whined. Sakura took pulled Naruto from Sasuke's arms and backed into the opposite wall. He started to turn bright red as she brought her body close to his, whispering in his ear.

"I kind of like it, Naruto."

Naruto seemed a little less pouty after that. She switched positions with him, pushing him up against the wall, but he pushed back this time, and she could feel Sasuke behind her.

She almost laughed, feeling the effect her plan had had on both boys (who were, afterall, still wearing only their thin boxers- concealing was not the material's strong point). It fed her ego every once in awhile to know that they were both dying to have her as much as they were dying to have each other and she was to have them.

Naruto leaned over her shoulder, covering Sasuke's mouth with his. She smiled as the two boys kissed. It was rare that they were so gentle with each other. Pulling back, Sasuke moved his mouth to her favorite spot, just where her neck and shoulder connected, biting her lightly.

Working hard to not let Sasuke's actions distract her, she reached for a bottle of the conditioner she'd bought to compliment her signature shampoo, rubbing it into Naruto's hair while she kissed him.

_He's not complaining anymore._ She thought smugly.

Of course, it was becoming harder to pay attention, as Sasuke moved his attention from one side of her neck to the other. She somehow managed to turn to face him, despite the pressure from both their bodies. Keeping one hand bent behind her, massaging the shampoo into Naruto's hair still, she used her other arm to draw Sasuke's head in closer, leaning forward to nibble on his ear. She felt his arm extend, then she felt a hand hit hers, also working on Naruto's hair.

Sakura was becoming more and more aware now that she was the only one fully nude. Not only more aware, but also more frustrated. Naruto must have had the same thought, because she felt his arms rub against her sides as he reached for the waistline of Sasuke's now-clinging boxers.

Unfortunately, that was when the already-dwindling heat in the water ran out completely, leaving them freezing cold, killing the mood, but not the affection. Forced to quit their game, they stepped out, both boys stripping out of their wet clothes.

A few minutes later, Sakura smiled, now dry and warm, leaning her head into Sasuke's shoulder as she blow-dried Naruto's hair, fluffing it out.

"See, Naruto? I told you cherry blossom shampoo could be fun." Naruto still glared at her, being positioned directly in front of the bathroom's mirror, though much more softly than in the beginning.

"Well if you had told me you'd be washing my hair like _that_, I might have said yes."

"Congratulations, Naruto" She could feel Sasuke smirk. "You've just taken the first step to becoming a woman." At this comment, Naruto tried to jump up, yelling out random curse words, but Sakura looped an arm around his throat, effectively choking him until he sat down.

"Stay still!" She ordered. "You'll mess it up!" She smiled, continuing.

"Maybe we should do this more often."

------------------------------------  
**A/N:** That was so much fun to write. I wish I had the courage to try for real lemon or lime... but I know it would absolutely ruin it if I tried, so for now, this is good.

Coming next- Without You

_To the average onlooker, they appeared to be just two teenagers. A young boy resting in the arms of his pink-haired girlfriend. If they looked closer, they would have seen the truth. _


	16. Without You

**A/N:** Sorry for the long update. I've been moving so quickly with this collection, so it feels weird to me that it's been awhile, but with all the homework during the week (and my upcoming job) it's hard to work much then, and these past couple weekends I've come back home for personal reasons. I'm going to try to find more time to write these.

This one bothers me a little bit. I guess because all the others were more happy. I like it, but it just feels so much sadder. In fact, there's another part of Harmony called 'Frozen' that I uploaded as a seperate story because it totally destroyed the fuzzy feeling of these stories. Feel free to check it out, but that one _definitely_ isn't happy.

I've never had the need to mention this until now, but these one-shots don't run together all on the same storylines (there might even be a couple AU). There's no specific order (unless a couple are connected, in which case it will be mentioned), so when Sasuke's suddenly back in the next installment, that's why.

**Harmony**  
Without You  
By Bunny-Chan 

_"Excuse me, you're too busy writing your tragedy-  
__these mishaps you bubble-wrap, when you've no idea what you're like__"  
_- "Let Go", Frou Frou

To the average onlooker, they appeared to be just two normal teenagers. A boy resting in the arms of his pink-haired girlfriend.

They would see a pretty girl stargazing. They would probably smile, thinking that she was daydreaming while holding her first love. Stories like that always seemed to come to peoples' minds first, always looking for a happy ending.

If they looked closer however, they would see the truth.

They would see the red half-moon nail marks that had been dug into his arms when she had cried earlier that night.

They would see her eyes still glazed with tears.

They would even see that he had also been crying.

That he wasn't just resting in her arms.

His face was buried in her neck, seeking comfort.

As for the story...

First love? Yes.

But it wasn't a complete love.

There was something missing.

Or... better put... some_one_.

"He'll come back." She would whisper slowly, never failing to believe in her hero.

"He left us." He would whisper also.

They were both too drained of energy to be angry. Too tired to cry.

Too exhausted to hurt.

She would open her mouth to argue, but wouldn't say another word.

She was too tired of defending him.

If they talked to her, she might tell them of the night she stopped the other one on his way out of town. She might tell them about how she had told him she loved him, and threatened to scream if he left. She might tell them how he thanked her, quickly moving behind her, and about how she woke up later, laid out on a stone bench.

If they talked to the boy with her now, he might tell them about their team. He might tell them of the dangers they'd faced together. Of the trials and tribulations. Of the petty fights that covered up a deep dedication.

Neither of them would tell of the affectionate gestures behind closed doors.

Those were still private and protected, the memories just as forbidden as the actions themselves.

She still had faith.

He had faith as well.

To the average onlooker, they were waiting.

Waiting because they couldn't let go.  
----------------------------------

**A/N: **If you've never heard that song (Let Go), you should. It's amazing. And those lyrics were directed toward Sasuke, I suppose.

Coming next- Reminiscence  
_"Do you remember when we were first put on the same team?" Both boys glanced at her for a second, then went back to scrubbing at the metal weapons. "We were all so unhappy."_


	17. Reminiscence

**A/N:** No, I haven't forgotten about this collection. Updates are just definitely going to be coming more slowly now. My chemistry and composition classes are very homework-happy, and I spent most of the past week or so trying to figure out what sort of layout to make for the fanlisting for Ohh Kiss (anyone who likes Kingdom Hearts, you should go read her stories- she's amazing)Needless to say, writing much is hard to do at the moment.

This one doesn't make me that happy... I'm hoping to get some more that I really like.

I'm planning ones based off both "Blue Light" and "This Modern Love", by Bloc Party, as well as a few others. I'm curious to see how long I can keep this collection going.

**Harmony  
**Reminiscence  
By Bunny-Chan

"Way to go, Naruto!" Sakura's shout was followed by the unmistakable sound of Naruto getting his ass kicked.

Even Sasuke's usual apathy was twisted into a scowl.

"It wasn't my fault!" The fox-boy cried defensively, shuffling away from her before even bothering to get back up on his feet. "It was Sasuke who screwed us up!"

"Only because I had to _save_ you, idiot!" Sakura sighed in annoyance as her teammates fell into what she would always consider to be _the_ glare.

"Arguing about it won't help us finish Kakashi's punishment chore." She muttered bitterly, opening a chest that revealed various pointy, dirty weapons. Cringing, she layed them out on his table. "Just start cleaning so we can go home..."

The next hour passed by in relative silence, with the exception of a curse here or there when one of the three shinobi was faced with an area that refused to allow itself to come clean.

The silence unnerved Sakura slightly. Naruto seemed to have tired of complaining (most likely quite aware that he was in a room full of pointy objects and two people who blamed him completely for the practice mission's failure). Sasuke never really spoke that much, so it was expected.

But to her, it seemed a waste of time to spend hours in silence.

Afterall, they'd had enough of that in the beginning- a memory that brought a slight smile unknowingly to her lips.

"What?" Sasuke's voice cut through her thoughts and brought her attention back to their work.

"Do you remember when we were first put on the same team?" Both boys glanced at her for a second, then went back to scrubbing. "We were all so unhappy." Neither answered, and so she went on. "I didn't want to be anywhere near Naruto and you two wanted nothing to do with each other. Sasuke was always annoyed with me while I threatened Naruto more times than I could count." She laughed softly, trying to ignore the slight amount of tension that she'd seemed to cause. When neither of them responded after a few minutes, she looked back down, sighing sadly.

"You two were the only good thing to ever happen to me."

Sakura' and Narutos' heads snapped up to look at him, but Sasuke was still calmly cleaning.

Naruto stared dumbly for a few minutes, and Sakura smiled, looking down again to hide the spreading blush behind a wall of pink hair.

For the rest of the night, no one said anything.

* * *

**A/N:** I don't really like this one. I like the scene so much more in my head than in writing, but I guess that happens a lot... The next one reminds me of Without You, but maybe a bit happier. And hopefully better than all this. I need to make one I really like again...

Once again, thank you all for reading! I appreciate it.

Coming next: Blue Light  
_Despite the pain, they had to let him be free.  
__They figured that was what it meant to _truly_ love someone._


	18. Blue Light

**A/N: **Meh, spoiler warning. Regarding things after episode 109, with a bit of stuff that probably never will happen (and I'll admit I'm not completely caught up on the episodes. I'm playing catch-up right now, actually, since I finally have a computer which will let me watch episodes while I wait to actually purchase them).

Inspired by one of my favorite favoritiest songs. After this installment, there'll be one more slightly sad-ish one, and then it's back to happy stuff. Parts sixteen through twenty (twenty was uploaded separately as 'Frozen') were just meant to break the monotony of the "Yay for love and sex! XD" feeling of the previous parts, because after all when the series became Sasuke going all "Hey, I'm off to kill my brother, k? Bai!" and everything, it just feels that it's not right to make this a purely smiley collection. Anywho... Enjoy.

- Written for Nichole, the best friend anyone could ever ask for and the one person in this world I could never live without.

**Harmony**

Blue Light

By Bunny-Chan

_"You will find it hiding in cupboards,  
__You will find it hiding in shadows  
__It will walk you home safe every night...  
__It will help you remember_

_If that's the way it is, then that's the way it is_

_I still feel you and the taste of cigarettes-  
__What could I ever run to?  
__Just tell me it's tearing you apart  
__Tell me you cannot sleep_

_If that's the way it is, then that's the way it is_

_And you didn't even notice when the sky turned blue,  
__And you couldn't tell the difference between me and you  
__And I nearly didn' t notice the gentlest feeling...  
__The gentlest feeling_

_You are the bluest light"  
_- "Blue Light", Bloc Party

"Goodnight, Teuchi-San." Sakura bowed as Naruto pushed his tall pile of empty bowls forward from the couple's usual place at the bar. Ayame waved a quick goodbye as they left Ichiraku, heading out into the dark streets of Konohagakure.

"It's getting cold quickly." Pulling her jacket more tightly around herself, Sakura moved closer to her blond companion and gently wrapped both her arms around his- an action that she knew still sent a thrill through him, no matter how long they had been together.

They walked forward in silence for some time, neither truly registering where they were until Sakura made a small "oh" sound.

Before them, the road leading out of town stretched out, its loneliness amplified by the night.

"Naruto, we should probably tu-"

"Let's keep going." He stared straight ahead into the darkness, and moved, gently pulling her forward.

"But Naruto... it's not safe outside the village at night..." When he turned to look at her, he was absolutely beaming.

"It'll be okay, Sakura-Chan!"

Even her natural voice of reason couldn't go against the boy's smile. Sakura heaved a small sigh before taking a step forward and tugging Naruto's arm a little. They continued on, once again in silence.

The lands outside the village's walls proved even more silent than the village, if possible, but the lack of noise wasn't even close to as unsettling as Sakura had expected it to be. What _was_ unsettling was the shadowy figure that stood atop the hill they were at the base of, identity washed out by the clouds blocking the moon's dim light. It was obvious that whoever the shadow was, they had already seen the two teenagers.

_Shit, if they know we're here, we can't just run away. Better be ready..._ Well practiced in self-defense and teamwork, they moved in the same moment- Sakura pulling out several shuriken and taking on a defensive stance as Naruto quickly moved in front of her, arming himself with a kunai. Minutes seem to pass, the air thick with tension, before the moon finally managed to free itself of cover. Light spread over the fields and hills, illuminating the mysterious onlooker.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura let her shuriken drop to the ground, running up the hill and throwing herself into his arms. Sasuke remained silent, watching Naruto walk toward them. "It's been weeks, Sasuke-kun! Oh, we've missed you so much!" He gently pulled the kunoichi off of him and again looked toward Naruto, whose eyes were filled with pain.

This was the way it always was when they were together again: Sakura was always ecstatic just to see Sasuke, while Naruto kept a betrayed and wounded look. It was a wonder that Sakura never failed to simply be grateful for his reappearances. He could not _blame _Naruto, after all.

Years had passed since Sasuke had walked away from the village, leaving no physical traces excepting an empty-room and an unconscious pink-haired kunoichi lying on a bench. For Sakura, time had healed the betrayal caused by Sasuke's change of heart. By his attacks and his apathy toward them. By his decision to set aside his only two friends in favor of the chance to gain power.

Then again, Sakura had always had an unnatural amount of faith in him.

Naruto, however, had taken time before being able to completely trust Sasuke. When Sasuke broke that trust, he left an open wound in Naruto's heart, and with each clash, each black mark in Sasuke's journey for power, that wound had been opened further.

The fox-boy approached his old friend slowly, and leaned forward to give him a soft kiss. When he pulled away, his still-sad eyes had a slight hint of relief in them.

"We missed you." The blonde admitted quietly.

"... I didn't come to visit." Sasuke jerked his head to the north. "There's a rather unpleasant trio in the area tonight, robbing travelers. I just happened to see you two on my way to train... Thought you should know." Sakura sighed audibly and shifted her position closer to Naruto.

"You're sure you can't stay...?"

"I promise... once I kill him, I will come back." At the word 'promise', Naruto made a face. "... I mean it. I have to keep my word to Tsunade." His mouth opened and closed a few times. "... And I want to be with you both." He added, face slightly flushing with a gentle tint of pink- something terribly uncharacteristic of the Uchiha boy.

"You'd better mean that." Naruto growled lightly. "Besides, if you don't, you know Tsunade won't have any other choice than to send ANBU after you."

"Naruto..." Sakura tugged on his sleeve softly.

"I'm sorry... I have to go." Their former teammate's disappearance was immediate and silent, leaving them alone on the hill.

"We should turn back." Naruto's voice sounded dead- he always did immediately after those strained farewells.

"Naruto..." Her voice rang through the fog in his head, bringing back some bit of life to him.

"Yeah, Sakura-Chan?" The hesitance before her next comment almost let him become lost in his thoughts again, but the question that followed was too surprising to ignore. It was a question she had not asked since they were fifteen.

"Do you love Sasuke-Kun?"

"... Yes."

"Then... Why do you... act like that? Why are you so cold to him every time?" She bit her lip and looked at the ground, not wanting to see the expression on his face, which she could only imagine as being one of hurt. It was always hard enough to see that look of pain when the three of them were finally together, or even sometimes when Naruto was alone and thinking (times she was sure she wasn't meant to see). She couldn't take it on the night that was supposed to cheer them both up after three weeks of Sasuke's complete absence.

"He abandoned us, Sakura-Chan. It wasn't even because he was just being a stupid jerk-face like usual either... He just didn't care that he was leaving us behind." Sakura frowned, wanting to come to Sasuke's defense, but she knew that what he was saying was true.

"He's changed, Naruto... He's going to come back to us."

"I know... When he does, then I'll forgive him. When he's back at home with us and in our bed at night and around to talk to us during the day, then I'll forgive him." She looked up at him curiously. "But for now... Let me be angry, okay?"

They moved quietly into the village, and sat down on the stone bench that had been the setting for so many important moments in their lives.

"Someday, he'll be free, Naruto." Sakura smiled and looked up into the sky. "Someday he'll be free of that burden, and when he's free, he'll come back to us... It doesn't matter how much it hurts us right now. We love him. We have to let him do what it takes to be free, because until he is, he'll never be happy." Naruto's mouth twitched, trying to maintain its careful grimace. Instead of responding, he pulled Sakura to his side in a light hug, shifting so that he was sitting against the side of the bench and she was lying against him, sitting between his legs.

"I know."

They sat together, not speaking, until Sakura realized why Naruto had moved her facing away from him. A warm wetness was spreading through the shoulder of her red dress.

He was crying.

Sakura snuggled back further into his arms.

"You know Naruto... We're going to be okay."

And from high above, sheltered by the branches of one of Konoha's many trees, Sasuke watched, knowing that one day he would be there with them.

---------------------------------------

**A/N:** Gah. Terrible. I had high hopes for this one. I had no idea where I was going in the beginning, but instead of going to the happy-land-of-good-stories, I apparently began a journey to the place where writers are hit with the need to repeatedly hit their heads on the desk they're working at.  
The next ones will be better, I promise.

Coming Next: Within Ambition  
_He was leaving.  
__For how long?  
He didn't know. Maybe forever.  
Such was the price of ambition._


	19. Within Ambition

**A/N:** Okay, this is completely unrelated to the story... but I've finally gotten around to watching some more of the Naruto dub, and just wanted to know if anyone else is curious as to why they kept Haruka Kanata as the second opening, but changed the actual opening scenes? I was kind of surprised when it went from the normal beginning to the cut of a scene from the show, and I'll admit to going "wtf?" when the opening ended with a couple scenes from the 3rd opening. I guess I'm just wondering why they kept the song but not the visual.

Anyway... Last not-so-happy installment (or at least for now). I'm actually surprised that I've kept this going for as many parts as I have. I'm really enjoying updating this, and I'd like to keep it going for as long as possible (though I doubt I'll get to fifty... I'm not sure I really have _that_ many ideas!) I've also slightly given up on the "coming next" sections having exact excerpts from the next installment. So instead they'll just be related bits. Hopefully.

Once again... spoiler warning for episode 109. I honestly don't remember the chapter number, though I want to say it's 180-something? More thought-oriented than anything. Hopefully I can capture Sasuke's angst, but listening to the soundtrack for The Little Mermaid might not be helping.

**Harmony  
**Within Ambition  
11.25.06

Do not misunderstand me: I'm not a completely heartless bastard.  
Quite the contrary.

There are reasons for what I have done (or in some sense, for what I have not done) on this night.

If confronted only a few months ago, I would have thought the idea of leaving this town and its people unnecessary. Not long in the past, I had honestly believed in the possibility of living in peace. I had believed that it was completely logical to continue on with my... _friends_.

That's the funny things about dreams.  
The more amazing the dream is, the harder it comes crashing down.

I'm sure this will not help my image, but somehow I find it relieving that Sakura understands that now as well.

Again - Do not misunderstand me.

Never in our time together have I truly considered using violence against my female teammate.  
It was simply all I could do at the moment, both for her safety and my willpower.

It isn't easy to listen to someone you care for cry.  
It becomes even harder when that person informs you that they're willing to throw away everything to be with you. To follow you to the ends of the earth and into darkness.

In the end, I could not say "goodbye". I thanked her.  
Saying goodbye would indicate the absence of a return, and I do plan to return.

Somehow, someday, I will defeat him.  
I will gain the power I need.

Then there will be nothing keeping me away anymore.

At least, that is what I tell myself when I look back at her, lain out awkwardly on a bench, bound to wake up in hysterics.

I find myself extremely grateful that Naruto had not been with her.  
Naruto would not just let me walk away.

Whereas Sakura could only beg for me to stay, Naruto would resort to force, I'm sure.

Of course, if it had been both of them together, regardless of strategy or tactics, I would be unable to leave.

The bond between any two of us is strong.  
When the three of us are together, that bond becomes nearly unbreakable.

The word 'love' is not a word I ever use, but sometimes I wonder if that's what it is that binds us together.

I never used to believe in 'love'.

Ignored by my father and betrayed by my brother, the idea of 'love' has been an abyss for me since childhood.  
However... it is the only word I can think of that would not be an understatement.

We protect each other.  
Fight for each other.

Help each other in times of need.

They are all I have.

Or... all I had.

For the time being, they are a liability.  
Not only are they a liability, but staying too close to me now would put them both in danger.

It is time to put them behind.

Such is the price of ambition.  
---------------------------------------------

**A/N:** Slightly disjointed, but I suppose under the circumstances, his thoughts would have been. It's probably a bit of a reach, as he didn't seem very hesitant to run off to the Sound Four, but I've always thought he seemed slightly sad in that scene, and (as optimistic as I am- I will always defend the idea that Sasuke will make it through to the end of the story, and return to Konoha... unless he died and I just haven't gotten to that yet, since keeping up is proving difficult) I kind of thought maybe the fact that he said "Thank you" was meaningful. I find it hard to mourn the eternal loss of Sasuke when he never said goodbye.

Bah.

Coming Next: Warmth  
_If there was one thing Sasuke hated (truly _abhorred,_ really), it was being sick. _


	20. Warmth

**A/N:** This amuses me. Then again, I'm probably just waaaaay too easily amused. Ignore the stupid title though. These are really hard to come up with titles for.

As a note, this is part 21. As mentioned before, part 20 was uploaded separately as 'Frozen', because it was much too depressing to include in this collection. Although I don't really know why any of you would care about the numbers for all of these.

Enjoy :)

**Harmony  
**Warmth  
11.25.06

If there was one thing Sasuke hated (truly _abhorred_ really), it was being sick.

He had such pride in his strength, and in his body, that the thought of one little virus bringing him down had the tendency to drive him nearly insane. On top of that, it wasn't at all helpful that his dignity was all but thrown off a cliff onto jagged rocks at the reality of being confined to bed, depending on the help of his teammates.

Yes, he _definitely_ hated being sick.

He hated the way he had to depend on Naruto to come in every half an hour and switch the washcloth that was supposedly suppose to battle his fever just by lying on his forehead (though... maybe it did feel a little better when it was replaced).

He tried to ignore the fact that Naruto looked more caring than smug, asking him if there was anything he might need, and then smiling brightly before leaving the room.

How annoying.

He hated the way Sakura bit the tip of her tongue lightly in concentration while checking his temperature and bringing in mass amounts of orange juice (in fact, Sasuke swore to himself then that if he were ever to run across another orange, he would annihilate it on the spot).

It bothered him when, every time she was leaving to run an errand, she would lean down to hug him, her breast brushing lightly against his arm, whispering "I'll be back soon".

Well... okay, he didn't exactly _hate_ it...

He didn't _like _it, but maybe it wasn't so bad.

He _definitely_ didn't like the condescension (or at least that was what he liked to perceive it as) radiating off of Naruto when he came into the room and sat on the bed, telling random stories in an attempt to keep him occupied, animatedly acting out some scenes, regardless of whether or not those scenes were better left to the imagination.

He also wasn't really fond of the moments when Sakura would return, smiling. She would hurry in to check his temperature again, setting the back of her hand against his forehead and the side of his face.

Well, maybe he didn't _dis_like it.

He forced himself not to smile when he woke up sometime after dark to see Naruto curled up at the very end of the bed, and Sakura lying against the side of it, right next to him.

Being sick wasn't _so_ terribly bad...

Maybe... (not to be disclosed under penalty of extremely painful, torturous death, of course) he kind of liked it.  
-------------------------------------

**A/N:** In general, these are getting weaker. I have to work on that.

I do have to believe that it really would piss Sasuke off to have to lay in bed and have everyone else take care of him. That, paired with the idea of Sasuke freaking out and using chidori on some poor unsuspecting piece of fruit, left me in most likely senseless hysterics.

Which leads me to...

Coming Next: Sasuke vs. the Orange  
In which Bunny-Chan thanks her readers for 5000 hits by pitting Sasuke against a piece of fruit.


	21. Sasuke vs the Orange?

**A/N:** I've never really been an exceptional writer, so the fact that I'm getting better and more people are reading my work is a huge thing to me.

On about November 27-ish, Harmony received its 5000th hit (and actually, I checked while writing this and it was at exactly 5500 XD), which is over 2000 hits higher than my story with the second highest amount (though at 20 chapters, maybe I don't have reason to be happy?). Because of this (and partially for neatness so the numbers won't be off for any part excepting Warmth), I've decided to write a special chapter: (hopefully) humor with a bit of SasuSakuNaru mixed in.

So thank you all for reading this far and I sincerely hope you enjoy the result of my terrible, slightly weird sense of humor.

**Harmony: Special!  
**Sasuke vs. the Orange  
11.29.2006

"It's great that you're feeling better, Sasuke-kun!" It was impossible for Sakura not to enjoy the sights and sounds of the busy market, and she chirped out the words more brightly than was possible. For a moment, Sasuke had the great urge to throw the bread he was carrying at her, but he knew he wasn't as annoyed with his teammate as he was with the fact that the cacophony of their surroundings was adding to his leftover headache.

So instead he settled for the Sasuke-ish response of "Hn" that he had perfected over the years.

Indeed, his cold was gone, but its effects were apparently out for revenge, as the dull aching pain in his head had yet to disappear. Still, at least he was perfectly healthy. It was a relief to be able to do the things that he had sorely missed in the past week, from the important things like training, to the simple pleasure of being able to kick Naruto's ass at any given moment.

Insisting that he shouldn't push himself yet, no matter how fine he felt, Sakura had talked him into going to the market with her - "To help me carry everything! You know Naruto- he'll drop everything!"

Oh, she _was_ a reasonable liar and obviously knew her audience well enough to add in a natural little insult against Naruto. That wasn't the reason he had come though. The reason simply was that his conscience would have been very unhappy with him if he hadn't helped out the girl who had so carefully taken care of him (not that he _needed_ it of course- he could have gotten up and left at anytime. Or... at least that's what he continually said to everyone who asked if he was okay) during the past week.

And that was how he found himself strolling through the streets of Konoha.

The first half hour or so had gone fairly well: It was Sakura's turn to make dinner (which was quite welcome, given the fact that when it was Naruto's turn, dinner was ramen. Every. Freaking. Time.), for which she had decided to prepare sashimi and rice, and so they had picked up a good amount of salmon after the normal groceries. All that was left was a quick run to purchase vegetables and they would be finished.

It was during this one final errand that rather pleasant shopping trip took quite a turn for the worse, as Sasuke felt his foot gently kick something on the ground and, out of natural curiosity, looked down to determine the other party included in this collision...

And was met with the image of a garishly bright piece of fruit.

An orange was lying at his feet.

Without warning, the memories of glass after glass of orange juice being forced down his throat by the freakishly strong Sakura invaded his mind. The gallons she had somehow stuffed into him were a bizarre form of torture, but torture none-the-less.

Those oranges had made his life a temporary hell, and now one of their family members _dared_ to impede the progress of him, _Uchiha Sasuke_?

This, unfortunately, was enough to make the young shinobi snap.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"

"Sasuke-kun! Wha-" "Stand back Sakura." His growled reply was followed by a stance she recognized all too well after his match with Gaara. Chakra flowed into his hand, unleashing the sound that it was named after... chidori- a thousand birds.

"Oh my god! Sasuke- stop!! Stop it!"

But the cries were too late- Sasuke was already in the air, falling toward the fruit with unmatched speed. The noise that followed was tremendous, as was the abrupt release of energy that ripped apart a few nearby stands; terrified shop keepers diving for cover. Even Sakura, who was used to such things, had trouble bracing herself. Needless to say, their groceries had not survived the ordeal.

The orange, however, had. It spun in a little circle before settling, unscathed, into the bottom of the rather sizeable hole that Sasuke had left in the ground. Catlike reflexes always at the ready, he jumped back to where Sakura was standing and swore under his breath.

"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?!" The sweetness was gone from her voice, turning his name from the sickeningly adorable "Sasuke-kuuuuuuuuun" to a sharp "Sasuke". She was no doubt (for lack of anything more eloquent) pissed. But a ninja's duty is to complete his mission, and completion of this mission meant annihilation of the enemy. Sakura's wrath would have to be dealt with later.

There was no way he could use chidori again so soon in battle. He had a limit, and that limit had already become much more clearly outlined after lying in bed for a week with no training.

Still, an unprepared Sasuke was similar to a Jiraiya ogling boys: It just didn't happen. The motion was so fast and fluid that it seemed like he'd hardly moved before several shuriken were flying toward his obnoxious enemy.

Of course, in a busy market, shuriken flying around is not the _safest_ procedure, and it just so happened that the exact moment Sasuke began throwing sharp things about was also the moment in which a young child (somehow unaware of the situation) decided to run between Sasuke and the orange, at which point Sakura knew she had to intervene to prevent the creation of a small-annoying-child-shish-kabob.

Now, most people might say that if one is a ninja, one should always carry some sort of weapon on them, but it is quite reasonable that some ninja, while just taking a small, friendly trip to the market in a quiet, peaceful village might not think that weapons are necessary to carry along.

And thus, Sakura was left with no choice but to throw _herself_ in the way of the shuriken, taking several non-critical hits to her arms and shoulder.

"Sakura! Stay out of the way!"

Before she could blink, she was on her knees off to the side, watching Sasuke in his shining moment.

A shuriken had managed to pin the orange into the dirt, clearly wounding it. Ripping the small weapon out of the fruit's flesh, he took the pose for his last attack- foot poised just over it, grinning insanely.

"This is the end."

_Squish._

Unfortunately for Sasuke, instead of the cheering and clapping he might have expected, the area around him was filled with angry yelling.

"Damn brat, you ruined my goods!"  
"He destroyed my stand!"  
"You'd better have the money for this, kid!"

But as the orange haze in Sasuke's mind faded away and his reason resurfaced, he picked out the most frightening of all: a shrill scream that sounded out amidst the angry crowd...

"Sasuke... I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"  
------------------------------------------

Between the destruction of Sakura's dinner ingredients, and her injured shoulder and forearms, the cooking that night was left to Naruto, while Sakura continued to threaten Sasuke with some... very interesting deaths. Still, despite the profanity she was so quickly spouting off, the kunoichi was gently cleaning bits of orange off of Sasuke's overly-bruised face, as he was rather in too much pain too move after being beaten halfway to death by several shopkeepers and customers who had been caught in the crossfire.

In the end, Naruto got his ramen, Sakura got to have Sasuke as a slave for one month, and Sasuke had made sure all oranges _knew_ that Uchiha Sasuke was not someone to mess with.

All in all, maybe it wasn't so bad.  
------------------------------------------

**A/N:** That was too much fun. Not much SasuSakuNaru, really... but hopefully it amused you guys as much as it amused me.

Coming next: Happy Birthday, Sakura  
_They had planned the perfect night for their girlfriend. Now all they had to do was make it happen. _


	22. Candy Canes

**A/N:** Note to self- Two in the morning on the day after Christmas is _not _the time to write a Christmas installment. Especially as it means I'm again putting off the next _planned_ installment and this is so freaking short.  
Dammit.

**Harmony**  
Candy Canes  
By Bunny-Chan 

The presents were lying all around the small apartment. Wrapping paper had been hastily thrown in all directions, and packaging had piled up in one lonely corner. The three bowls of "Christmas Dinner" (which had consisted only of soy-flavored cup ramen) sat on the table, chopsticks forgotten among the mess.

By one wall was a small pile of books. They were neatly stacked- the only hint of order in the room, but partially covered with a dark blue shirt that had been thrown haphazardly aside.

In the center of the mess were three young shinobi.

On the left was a pretty kunoichi. Her short pink hair fanned around her face, lips slightly parted in exhaustion. She was clothed only in red and white lingerie- a gift from her blonde teammate. Upon opening it, she had suspected he had only bought it for her because of its beyond-revealing qualities, but the ensemble was just too gorgeous for her to pass up immediately trying on, which led to… other activities.

With one arm wrapped around the figure to his left and a leg draped over the figure to his right was a boy. His bright blue eyes were closed, but there was a smile on his face as his hand snuck closer to the kunoichi's chest and she drowsily swatted it away.

On the right was a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy. He was still awake, rolling his eyes at his two teammates and still keeping a sharp eye out for danger. Slowly, he let himself fall asleep, putting his trust in his friends to be ready should an unexpected attack come. It was simply the way he thought.

And then, right above their heads, was a shattered candy cane. Earlier that night, the blonde had made it his goal to separate the candy's red, white, and green, because he insisted he couldn't stand the taste of any color but the red. It had ended quite messily, with the candy cane eventually breaking numerous times. But no matter how small the piece, each separate shard still carried all three colors.

Maybe when they woke up, they'd realize just how symbolic it was.  
------------------------------------

**A/N:** And now I can go to bed happy.


	23. Passion

**A/N:** Well, I'm giving up planning installments of this. Because I don't keep to the planned storylines anyway...

And also, I don't know how many of these there will be, but thanks to anyone who read this far in. I know that over twenty parts is a lot, and that a lot of people really don't want to read that much, so it means a lot to me that those of you reading this chapter stuck with it. Thank you!  
And also, please, review. Reviews are really helpful to the writer. Criticism helps them fix things, and praise makes them feel good about their writing!

**Harmony  
**Passion  
By Bunny-Chan

Their lips meshed together with the feeling of need, bodies pressed against each other, connected into one entity by the heat between them.

Nothing existed but the two of them.

Well, almost nothing.

She had not been forgotten, just spent. Her day had been long, oh so long, and now she was too tired for any more, so she laid still on the bed, breathing heavily, and sure she was going to explode from any number of pressures. Like a fragile little doll, she remained still.

They were still going at it. How could they not?  
There was a fire in them.

Hot.  
**Dangerous.  
**_Urgent. _

It _needed_ to be put out.

It had not been planned.  
It had never even been thought about.

When they had chosen to share Naruto's apartment that night, they had not expected this.

But Sakura had come home so angry and wild, and Naruto had been drinking and had finally convinced Sasuke to have some, and they had yelled at each other so fiercely for no reason, and then the fuse burned down all the way and it blew up.

The three of them were dynamite, destroying anything in their path, and there was nothing,  
**nothing  
**that could stop them now.

It was a curse. A predestined curse that had been trying to rain its rage upon them for months.

Now there was nothing they could do.  
It was not their fault,  
they were merely victims of destiny.

The cherry blossom at the head of the bed finally found the energy to move, forcibly pushing herself between them, and they didn't stop.  
They didn't stop because they couldn't stop, and who would _want_ to stop something that felt so good, so right?

In the morning, only two of them could put the blame on alcohol, and the other wouldn't need to find an excuse.

It was not her fault.  
It was not their fault.  
They did not _let_ it happen.

They were merely victims of passion.

---------------------------  
**A/N:** Meh. It was a plot bunny that wouldn't stop hopping around in my head. So I had to write it.  
It's not nearly as good as my in-mind video of this scene though. Now if only I could accurately transfer my thoughts from head to paper.  
That would be wonderful.

There will be a valentine's day installment of this... So expect an update sooner than normal.


	24. TwoWay Mirror

**A/N:** Today has just been a terrible, terrible day for me, and then to make it even worse, I discovered I'd lost the original Valentine's Day part that I'd started!  
It was undoubtedly the best thing I've written in awhile- I don't even know how I did it, but it's gone, and I'm already so stressed that this has left me spazzing out and crying.  
To make up for losing the absolutely most PERFECT thing ever, I guess I'll make two little parts to this... Both Sasuke-centric, but one less happy than the other. I'll do the non-happy one first.

Also, this is dedicated to both Spread-My-Wingz-And-Soar, who reviewed my last chapter almost immediately, and Reych, who left me several very kind reviews in one night. (Because I love dedicating things to people. It makes me feel nifty.)

**Harmony  
**Two-Way Mirror  
By Bunny-Chan

**What No One Sees  
(**If Sasuke remained a missing-nin...)

He stole quietly among rooftops, carefully concealing himself in shadow.

The stealth those past years had taught him was now something he was beyond grateful for, especially considering that many people were still out together.

Not at all odd, given the date.  
March fourteenth: White Day.

Only a month before, he'd gone to his usual secluded field to train, and had been shocked to find a small, pink box there.

He needed no names to know the two people who'd left it there.  
The two people who somehow knew where he went nightly.

Now it was time to return their gift.

She was the one he went to first, as she was the heavier sleeper of the two.

Not that she wasn't a talented kunoichi, but she did much better work awake than she did transitioning from sleep.

It was the scariest thing about missing-nins. He understood it now.  
When your teammate turns, he or she _knows_ you, and they are free to use what they know against you.

He was pleased to find her window open and, with one swift move to duck between the frames, there she was, as beautiful as ever.

Her pink hair was vibrant as ever, serving to bring out a tint of cherry in her cheeks. He could only hope those emerald eyes had remained just as vibrant... That he hadn't dulled them with his betrayal, or wasted away their brilliance when he cast her off.

Ever so softly, ever so silent, he set down a small box by her head, leaning down to leave a kiss that would not touch her lips.

The next one... Well, he had never thought the day would come when he should be worried about being caught, but Naruto had certainly become much more capable.

He did not dare to linger here, though he wanted to badly.

He looked the same as ever, though the baby-fat had finally left his face, but he still looked like the same child he had always been. His hair was messier than ever, as was his home. Even in sleep he managed to be disorganized- sheets were thrown every which way, half-covering him.

Where he worried about Sakura, he didn't with Naruto.

He _knew_ nothing could break that spirit.  
Where Sakura had to be handled carefully, Naruto could be thrown around, kicked and pushed, beaten and bruised... and yet nothing would dim him. Nothing would tarnish those eyes of his, or destroy that smile.

He didn't dare get too close this time, so he set the tiny box on the end of the bed, and slipped out the window once again.

As he walked away, he was perfectly aware that someone was watching him leave.

He was perfectly aware that the boy was holding an empty box that had given him the only give Sasuke could give: The knowledge that he still did care.

And he was also perfectly aware that, despite the distance between them, the small Konoha leaf he had sewn into his jacket was visible.

He would display their gift and their acceptance in plain sight for the rest of his life.  
As long as they knew that, he would be okay.

**Hidden  
(**If Sasuke came back home)

Valentine's Day had become their most unconventional holiday, simply because they weren't sure how it should work for them.

At first they had thought about following the tradition: Girls give gifts on Valentine's Day, and boys give gifts on White Day,

but there was a problem with that: When would Naruto and himself exchange gifts (... not that Sasuke wanted anything from _Naruto_, of course)?

It was Sakura who had proposed that she and Naruto give him gifts on Valentine's Day, and then he could give them return gifts on White Day,

but, once again, there was a problem: "I'M NOT A GIRL! Sasuke's not the only guy in this relationship, dammit! NO, NO, **NO!**"

Needless to say, that wouldn't work either.

Finally they came to a truce: All gifts would be given on February 14th.

Now, Sasuke was not exactly one for affection of any kind, making the task harder than it should have been.

Truth-be-told: He didn't like material gifts.  
Chocolate lasted only for a few days, jewelry tarnished with time, and toys and plushies fell apart.

But of course, in the end, he would have a gift for each of them.  
Not because he owed it to them...but because he wanted to.

He walked steadily into a small shop that he knew to sell unique items of all kinds (maybe a hair ornament for Sakura and a new ramen bowl for Naruto?), approaching the old shopkeeper.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Yes, I'm looking for gifts. Something for two people very important to me..."  
--------------------------------

**A/N:** Anti-climatic, yes. Or at least as far as the second goes. I muchly prefer the first part. However, I'm still mad about losing my original- It had NaruSasuSaku, with some SasuSaku-y goodness, and a little more SasuNaru, and even some KakaSaku, though it was entirely unintentional.

And because of the time I spent rewriting this, I've run out of time to write my NaruSaku valentine's fic... I might have to upload that a day or two late now...


	25. Peppermint

A/N: Oh wow, I'm SO sorry for my disappearing act. College has been... insane, to say the least. I can't lie- I'm no longer keeping up-to-date with Naruto. A lot of the things that happened before I lost track of where I was also really mess up the ideas I'd been building in my head for so long.

However... it's Christmas Eve. And even if I'm not into the fandom like I once was, I'm going to get in some Christmas cheer, celebrating one of my favorite three-way shippings of all time, no matter how last-minute, and plotless it happens to be.

Merry Christmas, to those of you who celebrate!

**Harmony  
**Peppermint  
12.24.2007

Sakura sighed, setting her cup of sake next to Ino's. The blonde looked at her friend, but she didn't look back.

"All right, I give in. You're not going to tell me." Plopping into the closest seat, she spinned to face the pink-haired kunoichi. "What's up, forehead-girl?"

It wasn't the heavy sigh that worried her- it was the lack of any insult, be it "Ino-pig" or maybe something a little more creative (too many years of the same mean nicknames _did_ get rather boring, afterall). She would have expected Sakura to be falsely-offended, and shoot something back.

"Things." Sakura replied, picking up her drink again and finishing it off. "Just things."

"... _Boy_ things, I take it."

"Pretty much." She sighed again and slid her cup over to Tsunade with a light shove. It never ceased to amaze anyone that, no matter how drunk she got, their Hokage could deal out liquor in perfectly measured amounts. It slid down the counter again, and she watched for a second as Tsunade poured herself another cup, and downed it with the expertise of a hardened alcoholic. "Pretty much..."

"What happened this time." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Sakura rarely denied Ino information- there was no need to _ask_ for it. She just needed to get across the point that she wanted to know.

Sakura, however, wasn't going to yield this time.

"Just... things, okay?"

"Hm. Buy them candy."

"... Eh?"

"Buy them candy. Naruto'll jump up and down like a three-year old, and you melted Sasuke's heart awhile back. No need to worry too much."

"I suppose."

"Don't you ever feel awkward?"

Sakura cocked her head to the side. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, a slight intoxication coloring them to match her hair.

"Why would I?"

"Well... the traditional couple is only a couple, you know." This was emphasized with two fingers held in Sakura's face. "If I found Shika having sex with another boy, I'd get out of _that_ relationship!"

Sakura leaned forward, dizzily setting her head in her hands.

"That's the normal reaction, you know. And what's your reaction? Join in."

"... You just don't get it."

"Well then tell me."

"It's like peppermint." She smiled slightly, eyes looking dreamy- no doubt remembering some by-gone moment. Ino, however, looked confused.

"... Peppermint...?"

"You know how peppermint starts out a bit sharp and shocking? But then... it sweetens up. It gets soft and sugary. You get used to it, and you like it." The smile grew wider, and she closed her eyes happily.

"I suppose so..."  
-------------------------------------------------

They came home late to find her curled up in the bed, two boxes wrapped with red and pink ribbon lying at the edge of the mattress.

_I'm sorry._, it read.

Naruto, never one to look down a present, shoved Sasuke out of his way and ripped off the ribbon and wrappings.

"Sasuke!!" The attempted whisper camed out loud and excited, "She bought us candy!"

And Sasuke smiled as Naruto pulled out one of the peppermint candies, popping it in his mouth happily.  
--------------------------------------------------

**A/N:** I apologize for lack of updates. So far... this is my only update in 2007. I'll work harder next year, I promise.


	26. Panna Cotta

**A/N:** I'm so sorry it's taken me so long. As mentioned in one of my other stories, the past two years for me have included the loss of my grandmother to cancer, switching academic majors, moving to Canada… lots of things. I finally have time to do the things I love again, including writing, and am going to try to pay attention to the works I left untouched for so long.

This chapter isn't really the best, but I want to give _something_. Even through my long periods of not posting, I've gotten lovely reviews and I appreciate everyone who read this collection and enjoyed it and has asked for more – thank you so much. Just because I've been MIA doesn't mean I haven't been reading them, and it's always made my day smiley when I hear from someone.

I'm going to try to get caught up on Naruto now that I have time once again, but for the meantime I'm lost as to the plot, so I'm going to insert happy things into an alternate timeline for this one. Please ignore any and all inconsistencies. As a mention though… I think I'm getting into the last parts of Harmony. I have a few more ideas I want to write, but I don't think I can keep this going forever without starting to reuse ideas. Gonna give it a shot though to see how long it can last.  
Also, panna cotta is an Italian dessert, made mostly of cream, sugar, and gelatin. I am not sure if they have Italian desserts in the Naruto world, but it is delicious, so it shall be used :D

**Harmony**  
Panna Cotta  
01.13.2010

There were rules in their household – usually simple ones. Things that no one ever had to question because they were just _accepted_.

No one went into Sasuke's room without his permission, because he liked his privacy.  
No one touched Sakura's bookshelf, because she liked them in perfect order.  
Quiet time was midnight unless they were all up together, because Sakura had to report to Tsunade early.  
And most importantly, Naruto was not allowed to cook, because… well that one spoke for itself.

Unfortunately just as accepted as the rules was the fact that Naruto was going to break them, because he was Naruto and that was just what he did.

The pan was already on the stove, heating up, and he'd poured out the cream fairly well, really (except for the large puddle on the counter that steadily dripped its way to the floor, but he would clean that later.) Sugar was also scattered everywhere, but, like in the case of the cream, he'd measured out the perfect amounts and that was what mattered most. Sakura's cookbook was clean and safe on the dining table. Referring to it again, he made a face.

"What the hell is gelatin?" He poked into each cupboard, checking boxes unsuccessfully. "It can't be _that_ important," he finally decided, pouring the cream, sugar, and vanilla in.

Naruto was excited – Sakura was working and Sasuke was doing extra training. They would both be tired when they got back, and imagine their surprise when they found a delicious dessert waiting for them. It also served the purpose of lifting that silly ban that they had placed on his involvement in the kitchen. Not that he _wanted_ to cook, but he wanted to at least have the option!

He pouted, poking at the mixture.

"Doesn't look like it's doing anything…" The fruit still had to be cut, so he moved on to that instead.

It was sometime during the third strawberry that Sasuke arrived home and, in his eagerness to show just how well he'd been doing, Naruto accidentally cut through his finger.

"OW! IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS!" was what Sasuke arrived home to.

Ever unphased, the dark-haired boy lifted an eyebrow, taking in the sight of the kitchen, then of Naruto holding his hand with tears running down his face.

"Idiot," he said softly, rummaging through Sakura's drawer for some bandages and ointment. He sat down on the floor next to the sniffling Naruto and took his hand gently. "Sakura's going to be pissed." Naruto sniffed, wincing as the ointment stung and his finger was neatly bandaged. He didn't bother replying.

Sasuke stood. "Well," he said finally, reaching down to ruffle Naruto's hair in an affectionate gesture that the blonde had grown fond of. Affectionate gestures from Sasuke were few and far between – he cherished them. "I guess we may as well try to fix this."

* * *

Sakura's day had been rather difficult, and she was looking forward to a nice evening of relaxation.

Which was why she was not thrilled at being greeted by smoke pouring out of the window.

"… the hell?" She rushed in, expecting the worst, only to find Naruto frantically throwing a pot of some brown substance in the sink while Sasuke watched with a look of what appeared to be amusement. She couldn't help it – her kitchen was covered in cream and sugar and the room was filled with smoke. Fruit had flown everywhere and all the cupboards were open. Naruto stopped panicking when he saw her standing there, a look of horror spreading across his features.

She opened her mouth to say something – she had no clue what- and just burst out laughing. It was so silly, and it was so cute, and she loved them so much.

Later that night, after the kitchen was properly cleaned and a last-minute trip for ingredients was made, she would carefully show Naruto the proper way to make panna cotta, and the three would enjoy their hard work underneath a sea of stars.

Everything quickly returned to normal: Naruto was curled up in Sasuke's lap, half-asleep, and Sakura was stroking his hair softly, and Naruto was _still_ not allowed in the kitchen.


End file.
